


let them eat cake

by anathema (shellsuite)



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: A little angst, Bakery AU, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-24
Updated: 2014-08-06
Packaged: 2018-01-26 08:58:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1682498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shellsuite/pseuds/anathema
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aria Montgomery has been in the baking business ever since her mother opened up a bakery, Gomery Goods. Now, at 23, the last thing she’s gonna let get in the way of her bustling career is a guy, but that all changes when Jason DiLaurentis opens up business across the street. What starts out as a tart rivalry could change into something particularly sweet…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is taken from a Jaria AU picspam I made about a year ago on tumblr. You can go to my profile on here and then my url will be in my description and you can just go to the tab that says "mine" and then "my au picspams" to see it. I took the summary from that, but just changed something around. This shouldn't take that long since it'll be short, but enjoy. I'll try to update a few times a week until it's finished. :)

Aria Montgomery grew up helping in her mother’s bakery, Gomery Goods, which was like the only bakery in Rosewood. Well, the only good one at least, if you ask Ella. Gomery Goods had been in business for about twenty-two years, ever since Aria’s parents moved to the quiet town Rosewood after marriage. Originally, her parents had both been teachers, but when Aria was born, Ella decided to be a stay at home mother, her time usually spent caring for her daughter or trying out a new cake recipe. It didn’t occur to Ella to start up a business at first, but with a few nudging words from people around the town, Gomery Goods would soon be open for business in a matter of months, staffed with a few of the college students and, of course, little Aria and sometimes her baby brother if he would just stop tasting everything. 

Aria liked working at the bakery as she grew older. It sort of became second nature to her. When she wasn’t at school, then she was at the bakery, sometimes even opening it up by herself and perhaps running it for a few hours if it was a particularly light day. A couple of the popular items on display were creations made by Aria herself. Ella didn’t think that she’d ever really have that sort of bakery that sold tarts, but once Aria baked a batch of lemon tarts and gave out free samples (Mrs. DiLaurentis placed an order for her Sunday brunch), Ella decided to expand the menu with the tarts, a few fruit danishes, and macarons. 

“Maybe you can take this place over in a few years,” Ella had said one evening as she locked the front of the shop. “People are already asking you for recipes. You’re Rosewood’s very own superstar.”

Aria had been thirteen when her mother told her that, almost ten years ago. If Aria was being completely honest, then the last thing she wanted to do was stay in Rosewood forever just to run her mother’s bakery. Don’t get her wrong for she loved the place. It was a second home, where her friends came to hang out to eat cupcakes and drink coffee while talking about boys. Gomery Goods was where Aria’s friend, Hanna, got her first kiss. The bakery was where Emily told them she was a lesbian. It was where Spencer announced she’d gotten into every Ivy League in the country. It was where Alison...where Alison said she couldn’t imagine not having the four of them as her best friends before she disappeared the very next day. 

Alison’s sudden disappearance isn’t what deterred Aria from truly staying in Rosewood. Yes, it certainly was a factor because the last thing Aria really wanted to do was stay in the town where her best friend was brutally murdered, but she wanted to see the world. Or at least a different part of the country and in a city where you were lucky if you saw the same person twice. And what better place than New York, the Big Apple? The city of dreams? The concrete jungle? It was practically calling Aria. _Join us, Aria. We have cute hipster guys who contemplate whether or not man will go through some type of reverse revolution and sprout gills again._ See? It was calling her. 

Ella had been initially heartbroken when Aria told her the news. She sat down with her parents one night after dinner, Mike was out with whoever he was dating, and Ella seemed to have already prepared for this. She was devastated, still. 

“I knew as soon as you went off to culinary school that you wouldn’t want to stay here,” Ella sighed, frowning. “But I can’t make you stay here, even if I want you to.”

While at culinary school in western Pennsylvania, Aria shared an apartment with Gloria Jameson, a tall girl with caramel skin and hazel eyes. She wasn’t much of a baker, but loved French cuisine. Gloria had was originally from Upper Manhattan and decided to go to school in Pennsylvania because she was offered a full scholarship. Also, she just wanted to get out of her parents' nonstop supervision, which Aria could tell because Gloria seemed to have a party to go to every night while Aria was slaving away in their kitchen over cheesecakes and scones. 

The two of them had become such close friends, the two of them seeming to always have comfort food for one another during an especially bad breakup (Aria would really rather never speak of Ezra again and Gloria might puke if she hears the name Landon again). Gloria suggested that after the summer Aria come to New York where they could rent out another apartment because it worked so well the first few years. It sucked having all of her high school friends still in Rosewood, save for Spencer who was somewhere in Europe interning as ambassador for something important, but this was what Aria needed to do. She had to get on with her life as an entrepreneur, and that meant leaving Rosewood and all those memories behind. 

Until she opened up Aria Bakery and Espresso Café. Until business was doing great and then another bakery opened up directly across the street, and the side streets of Manhattan weren't that big so this was personal. Someone had a vendetta out for Aria named Jason. Jason DiLaurentis, Alison's brother. Suddenly, Gomery Goods didn't seem so bad.


	2. part 2

Jason DiLaurentis is literally the devil. 

"He's literally Satan."

Gloria hums in agreement, though she's really only focusing on not screwing up her manicure. 

"I mean, isn't that against the law? Like, it's taking business away from me. Like, a direct competition."

"I think that's why we're a free market economy? Because everyone has the right to open up a business wherever they want? I don't know. I didn't do great in polisci." Gloria shrugs.

Aria turns the speed up on the mixer. She shouldn't, but she's angry. These poor egg yolks are gonna get the beating of their lives so she might as well just make this a pound cake. 

"Was he following me?" Aria asks as if her roommate has an answer. "I just don't get it. The entire reason was to get away from Rosewood, not have people from there show up and move across the street."

Gloria blows on her fingernails. "He probably doesn't even know it's you. Maybe you're overreacting."

Aria doubts that. Ella definitely told Mrs. DiLaurentis and she definitely blabbed to the entire town and so Jason knows and that's why he's here because...because of something Aria doesn't know yet. 

"Maybe I should go out of business," Aria muses and Gloria gasps. "Or I could bribe a health inspector. Have him find rats in Jason's bakery."

Gloria laughs. "Honey, it's New York. Everyone has rats, they're practically taxpayers."

Aria finally turns off the mixer. It's no use. The eggs can't be used for anything except maybe scrambled. "It's just...why now? Why here of all places?"

"I think everyone loves the city, Aria."

"I mean, like, it just doesn't seem like a coincidence."

Gloria purses her lips and hops off of the kitchen counter, sliding a little bit as her socks collide with tile. "Maybe he likes you."

"Jason?" Aria screeches in disbelief. "No. The only girls he's ever been attracted to are those ones in those Japanese comic books with the giant breasts."

Gloria smiles softly before breaking out and singing, "Darling, you are the only exception."

Aria rolls her eyes and Gloria walks away laughing, saying she's going to put in Avengers because they both could use a lot of eye candy tonight. 

Right when Bruce hulks out aboard the helicarrier, Aria gets it. Jason must be here because of Alison. If he hated anyone, them it was Aria because she was the last person to see Ali before she disappeared. Rosewood was a safe town so they never really thought about the dangers of walking alone by themselves. Aria walked midway with Alison to her house until her father called and told her to come straight home because Mike had been in an accident. Ali huffed, like she always did when she wasn't being put first, but ultimately said her goodbyes and told Aria to text her if she needed anything. Needless to say, Alison never made it home that night and this must be some weird type of revenge that only Jason could come up with. Well, if he wants a war, then it's a war he'll get.

Aria normally opens up the bakery at seven each morning, waking up around 5 to do prep, but this morning she gets up at 4 and jogs before heading out. Of course, she has to jog past Jason’s shop, though she really can’t see a thing. The windows are tinted and the sliver of nothing that she can make out is just a table with two chairs by the window. Since when could Jason even bake? Or does he have just a staff that does all his bidding while he thinks of ways to take down Aria? Probably the latter.

Lillian comes into the bakery a little before opening and twists into her apron. Aria only met the girl a few months ago because she was desperate for a job and seemed competent enough so she hired her. Her cherub like face and doe eyes certainly helped business some, though that’s probably kind of bad. 

She takes one look at Aria’s exhausted yet angered face and pouts. “Couldn’t sleep?” Lillian asks, taking the frosting piper from Aria’s hands. 

Aria lets out a breath and leans on the opposite counter. “Yes, and no.”

She did sleep, but her dreams were full of anger so she definitely isn’t rested. That jog didn’t help either, instead just made her angrier. Who the hell does Jason think he is anyway? At what point did he decide that this was the best way to get even with Aria? And what a crappy way of doing it, too. 

“Have you seen the new store opening up across the street?” Lillian asks. “It looks nice.”

Aria folds her arms in disdain. “It looks terrible,” she simply says and walks to the front of the shop to open. Across the street there is already a long line outside of Jason’s shop, a few of the patrons she recognizes that came in her store every few days. Well, it looks like chivalry is dead. There’s also a light blue strip of giant ribbon in front of the entrance and she swears if Jason comes out with a pair of scissors like this is fucking groundbreaking--gasp and there he is the fucker. Aria doesn’t mean to press her face up against the glass, but that’s what she does. She’s a goldfish and her bakery is the bowl and Jason is a shark with the whole ocean. He looks so charming. Charming and maddening. Aria can't make out what he's saying, but he's smiling a lot and people are laughing--her regulars--like Jason DiLaurentis is just a catch. 

"Are we stalking him?" Lillian asks, startling Aria. 

"No," Aria answers coolly. "Just...observing. And if you happen to go over there on your break and...gather intel then I won't mind."

Lillian narrows her big eyes, a true effort. "Um. Aria. Maybe you're overreacting. A little?"

Aria grumbles and throws her hands up in the and goes behind the counter. She is not overreacting. In fact, she's probably underreacting. She could probably get a restraining order filed if she wanted to. God, she's starting to act like Hanna. Spence on a bad day.

The day goes on and while there hasn't been a huge decline in customers, it is noticeable that usually around this time Aria would be putting her 12th apple pie in the oven, but she's only sticking in her 9th. 3 pies down isn't bad, but still. When Lillian comes back from her lunch break, chipper as hell and still chewing when she walks through the door, she has a pamphlet in her hand. She waves it in front of Aria ("I chot a menchu") and Aria snatches it, eyes soaking in every detail right down to the laminate to the stupid Calibri font. 

“Bread baked daily,” Aria mocks as she reads aloud. “I swear, Lillian, it’s like I’m being punked.”

Lillian is still confused when she asks, “Is there something I should know about? He’s really cute. And nice. I don’t think he’s out to shut you down.”

Aria’s eye go wide. “Did you talk to him?”

Lillian nods slowly. “I told him I work in the bakery across the street and he said he’ll stop in one day. Oh, and thanked me for welcoming him into the neighborhood.”

Ugh, the pretentious d-bag is already trying to get with Lillian and it hasn't even been a day. Amazing. 

"Do you know him, Aria?"

"We lived in the same town," Aria answers because that's enough truth for the day. It's more than enough truth she ever wants to even remember. 

It's not that she hates Jason. Aria doesn't hate anyone, except maybe Ezra, but that's a whole other story. She never really got to know Jason that much, other than what Ali told her. All he did was get drunk and high with his friends and didn't give a crap about anyone but himself. Of course, Jason never repudiated any of those claims because whenever Aria saw him he was nursing a hangover and kinda rude. But now Lillian was saying that Jason apparently took a complete 180. Even if it is true, Aria has no reason to believe it. Jason DiLaurentis definitely has it out for her.


	3. Part 3

The week ends and Aria's time has been taken up with a boatload of cake orders this week so anytime for Jason sabotage is pushed to the side. It's almost closing time and usually no one comes in after six so she sends Lillian home early. Aria sketches out a birthday cake at the counter behind the register, trying to get some inspiration for the theme cake the customer wants. What exactly does "winter by the beach" mean and why is it a birthday cake? It sounds like a wedding theme. Maybe she could do the ocean washing up on a snow covered sandy beach, and little hot chocolate mugs on a beach table with umbrellas in them? Well, it's a thought at least. 

The bell above the door rings and Aria tells the person she'll be with them in a moment.

"Don't rush on my account," the patron says and Aria smiles to herself. If only all her customers were so nice. But wait.

Her smile quickly turns into a scowl and the pencil in her grip snaps in half as she spins around because there is Jason. Jason is in her shop. Jason is in her shop wearing a striped button down and the sleeves are rolled up to the elbow and he has on khaki pants and his hair is slightly mussed from running his hands through it. Jason DiLaurentis is in her shop and he looks positively delicious like the bag of whatever he is holding surely is. 

"Thought I'd stop by and say hi," he says. Aria wants to crumple.

"Well." She swallows. Come on. Pull yourself together. "Hi."

Jason laughs silently and looks down as he approaches the counter is slow, measured steps. "I just wanted to catch up, is all."

"Nothing to catch up on. We aren't friends, Jason."

For a second he actually looks hurt, but that's quickly replaced with amusement. 

"I figured you'd say that. But either way, I brought you over some dinner. See, it's like a bread shop too. Like Panera?"

"Yeah, I saw...the menu..."

Jason smiles and sets the bag down on the counter. "I don't really know what you like, but I figured it's safe to say that a tomato mozzarella panini is fine."

"Yeah. It's fine."

Well, this is awkward. Can he leave now because Aria is pretty sure if she has to say something else then it'll make her seem ridiculously stupid. 

Jason decides to speak up and end their staring match (he lost) and he says, "I didn't think you'd ever leave Rosewood."

Aria drops her head and laughs sarcastically. "If there was one person who would never leave Rosewood then it's not me. How would you know anyway?"

"Just, you know, your friends? You guys were like glue."

Aria shrugs. Maybe. But Alison was the only thing that really held them together. After that they never were the same. The bond was broken. 

"Emily moved to Texas and Spencer's in Europe. There wasn't really anything left for me." Which was half true. Emily did move to Texas, for like a month, and then came back once her girlfriend broke up with her. 

"Nothing at all, huh?" Jason asks.

Aria swallows her tongue. Jason smiles and the light seems to dim in his eyes for a split second, but then it returns within a second and he's pushing himself away from the counter. 

"Stop in across the street sometime. Oh, and maybe try to be a little more conspicuous when you get your workers to spy on me?”

Jason slides out the door before the bag he gave Aria comes flying at him, slamming into the window and sliding down on the floor. Aria crosses her arms and huffs. God, he’s terrible.. Who does he think he is? Exactly what is he trying to prove? Aria wants nothing to do with him. Gosh. 

Aria is practically starving though--and she won’t admit this to anyone--but if she goes over to the door, shuts the blinds, and picks up that bag and eats that panini like it’s a gift from the heavens, then no one knows about it and no one can judge her. God, Jason probably made this himself. Wait! Even before that. He thought about what Aria might like. He seriously thought about it and hoped that she wouldn’t be disappointed with the outcome, and oh, how she wasn’t. Jason could bring her dinner every night and she wouldn’t complain (well, to his face she would). 

Now she’s thinking about him bringing her dinner every night and everything is becoming way too much way too fast so it’s best to just put a stop to this once and for all. No more visits from Jason. No more thinking about Jason. 

But, if Aria is being honest, he’s all she thinks about on the way home.


	4. Part 4

By the next morning, Aria is well rested and any thoughts of Jason are far off her mind. The shop doesn't open until twelve today so she has a few hours to kill. Maybe she'll read that book that's been sitting on her nightstand collecting dust since the dawn of time. She's read like the first ten pages; something about a woman finding herself and eating a lot of food along the way. Kind of like herself.

Gloria wakes at eight and by the time she saunters to the kitchen, Aria already has breakfast--Ella's French toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon-- prepared and served up on plates. 

Gloria practically salivates.

"What's the occasion?" Gloria asks and sits down at the counter beside Aria.

Aria shrugs. "Just...felt happy I guess."

"Mmm," Gloria moans through a mouthful of toast. "You should definitely feel happy a lot more." 

"I do, but today is different."

Aria doesn't know how different today will be. 

It starts with Lillian calling out. She's sick, she tells Aria. 

"I think I have a stomach bug. There's been something going around in my apartment building."

Lillian never gets sick. She never calls out. She is here even when it’s thunderstorming and she hates thunder.

Business is slow, even for a Saturday so it was a gold thing Lillian called out because she would've been bored out of her wits. Normally, the rosemary bread would've sold out by three, but Aria still has about half of what she made left and that won't due. Jason's is crowded as usual, a line extending out the door and around the corner like it's freaking Magnolia's. Does he even sell cupcakes? Because if not then he's doing it all wrong. She better take her lunch break and march right over there and tell him. (Aria is so nice for doing this, she tells herself.)

Instantly, Aria is hit with a strong aroma of thyme and rosemary and barley and butter and a little hint of sweetness. And coffee. Christ, the coffee smells magnificent. It’s really nice in here, too, she’ll admit. Much more upscale than her bakery, the tables and chairs a little more modern and sleek, the lighting warm and paint on the walls earthy and muted. She’ll even tell Jason that, since she’s so nice. 

The line of customers aren't exactly pleased when Aria, albeit quite gracefully, navigates herself to the front of the line and stops at the counter where a boy who can't be older than 16 is manning the register. 

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to get in line," he tells her, and that's fair, but Aria just wants to talk to Jason, but apparently Jason's not here. "Oh, he's out with a client or something. You wanna leave a message?"

Out with a client? Like, a meeting? Or something a little more intimate? Is Jason really playing hooky so early in his career? Is picking up some floozy really more important than these customers, who are getting angrier and angrier the longer Aria stands there? She should've known. None of this is serious at all. It's all just a...a ploy to get Aria disgruntled and have her lash out and it is so not working, Jason.

Register Boy says that he doesn't know exactly where Jason went, but he was dressed pretty casually, which means that out of the thousands of places in NYC, the chances of Aria even getting within 500 feet of him are miniscule. Also, she's kind of mad with herself for automatically assuming Jason was out with some other girl. He's free to go where he wants, date whoever he pleases, but strangely enough Aria has a problem with it. Go figure.

Aria doesn't even know if it's even a girl. Register Boy literally said client. But honestly, his shop hasn’t even been open that long so how the hell does he have clients already? It took Aria at least a few weeks for word of mouth to really spread and for the orders to start pouring in, but it’s literally been a week. A week and Jason’s already out meeting a client? Yeah. No. Aria isn’t accepting that. 

When she opens back up from break, there are already a few people outside waiting (“Oh good you’re back! “I’m in a rush.” “Please tell me you have some apple strudel left.”), and Aria smiles pleasantly and serves them with ease, even the rude one. And people shuffle in and out throughout the day, picking up cakes for birthdays and baby showers, say they’ll be back soon, and all too soon it’s six and it’s closing time. She gives off the last few pieces of biscotti and waves goodbye to the elderly woman as she shuffles down street, and flips the sign over on the door. 

Jason’s has slowed down, which means that the line isn’t as long as it was practically all day. Aria refuses to get angry, though. She’s over that. She really is. Is it a little annoying that her business has slowed down, like, a lot? Heck yeah it is. But, she’s still making enough profit to live comfortably so, really, she can manage. 

So when there’s a rapping against the front door, Jason on the other side, a white plastic bag that read in red print thank you in his hand, Aria’s so over it that she even smiles. A little and it’s only for a quick second and Jason probably didn’t even see.

“I heard you stopped by earlier,” he greets, from the other side of the door. 

Aria shrugs, but she’s smiling again and it’s so dumb. God, what would Ali say if she knew?

“I brought Thai,” Jason holds up the bag. 

“Hmm. You drive a hard bargain, but I’m going home.”

“Then I’ll give you a ride.”

Aria drops her gaze. “You’ll give me a ride...during rush hour? Thanks, but I think I’m fine. I literally live four blocks away.”

“Then I’ll walk you,” Jason counters. “You can tell me about your day.”

At this point, Aria would have just pulled down the blinds and went through the back exit, but she’s kind of crazy and is super curious as to who this client was so she just tells him that she has to get her purse.

The first block they don’t say anything, but Jason’s left hand knocks into Aria’s right a few times and how staged is that? she thinks. Still, the Thai food smells absolutely sinful and it’d probably be rude to just send him away as soon as they get to the apartment. Besides, she won’t see him until Monday, maybe, because the shop is closed on Sundays. 

“Meeting with a client," Aria recounts, side eyeing him and he grins sheepishly. "Yeah, I didn't buy that for a second." 

"Well, it is true. To a degree. I had to discuss...things with someone."

Aria narrows her eyes. "What kind of things?"

Jason shrugs and runs a hand through his hair. Aria wonders what it must feel like to do such a thing. It looks really soft, probably smells good too. Like, honey and lavender and boy. He's so lucky. He probably cards his fingers through his hair every chance he gets. Aria would. She would in a heartbeat.

Jason spares her a grin before it fades away quickly as it appeared. “I guess I just needed to sort out a few things. Nothing big. Just, um, advertising and marketing details. That kind of stuff."

The most Aria did with advertising was a short ad in a subway train that lasted for about a week before it was supposedly removed. It could still be there, she doesn't really know. She hadn't rode the subway since that one time she saw it. Advertising wasn't something she was worried about, though. In a city where you couldn't walk outside of your house without coming in contact with a telephone pole covered in flyers, Aria figured she did okay. Word of mouth was really the only sure fire way of getting noticed nowadays anyway. Aria lost track of how many customers came into the shop brandishing referral coupons, which was another reason why she was so successful. On orders of $40 and over, you received a 15% off coupon and one for someone you recommend. Of course, some patrons just kept both coupons, and honestly Aria probably would too. 

Suggesting her method to Jason seemed counterproductive, since she wanted him out of business and gone from the city and her life forever, but she tells him anyway and Jason says it's a really good idea and that he'll have to think about it and they fall into comfortable silence all the way back to Aria and Gloria's apartment building. 

Jason still has the Thai food in his right hand and Aria almost offers for him to come up so they can eat, but that's letting her heart get in the way and she can't keep up the ice queen persona if having feelings gets in the way. Jason hands her the bag, anyway, though. 

"I don't have much of an appetite anyway," says this boy, twice her size. Unbelievable. "You can share it with your roommate. See ya around, Aria."

And then he's gone and Aria is left with two containers of spicy rice noodles and wondering where in their two minute conversation she talked about Gloria.


End file.
